Grab This Book

I have been gone for quite a while, many books have passed through my hands and there have been lots of Kindle uploads. Why the significant gap in updates?  Check out my final review of Ash!

Since my last post World Book Night has come and gone.  I managed to gift all my books (bar three and they are earmarked for specific readers). I had fun presenting some books to random strangers, I left one on the train so it could be ‘found’ (though I was sitting a few chairs away watching to see who nabbed it).  More importantly I tried to ensure they went to people who generally don’t get to read much – as I live in one of the less glamorous areas of Lanarkshire this was quite easy!

I did get a kick out of watching the passengers on the train trying to be subtle about taking what appeared to be a forgotten book.  I had boarded the train at a quiet station, destination Edinburgh.  I walked down a near-empty carriage and dropped a copy of Gorky Park onto an empty seat. If you did not see this year’s World Book Night titles it helps to know the covers were predominantly bright orange – Gorky Park is not a short book either!

The book sat alone for two stations though people did stare at it as they walked down the carriage. As we neared the Capital the train busied-up and people started to sit beside the lone book.  There were subtle glances towards it and one man even flipped it over to read the back – not brave enough to pick it up though!

I thought that my fellow passengers may be too polite to lift someone’s forgotten book – as I was riding the train to the end of the line I had planned to lift the book if nobody took it.  However, all was to resolve its-self quite suddenly.  As we pulled into Edinburgh Park station a lady placed her copy of The Metro onto the chair beside her (and on top of Gorky Park). The train stopped, the lady rose, lifted her paper (and a now-concealed copy of Gorky Park) and left the train. A quick glance back at the door to check she was not being challenged….BOOM – Gorky Park had a new home!

I hope she enjoyed it. Later it also dawned on me that she really did Grab This Book.

Exciting email received today from the team at World Book Night. It seems that my copies of Gorky Park should now be waiting for me at my designated collection point.

April 23rd draws ever closer and I will be looking for good homes for my 18 copies of Gorky Park – hoping also that I cross paths with another book giver who may introduce me to an author I have not read yet.

The first World Book Night (2011) remains my favourite to date as it landed in the middle of Glasgow’s Aye Write festival.  I attended a fantastically bookish evening in the beautiful Mitchell Library. I got to mix with other bookworms and even had the chance to hear Jo Nesbo and Mark Billingham discuss their writing careers.

Wonder what 2014 will bring?